A Strange Girl (Currently Under Rewrite)
by TheMediator052
Summary: Story under rewrite. Latest update isn't a new chapter, just an update on rewrite progress, which is slow. Feel free to take a look, but a lot is going to be different after the rewrite.
1. Chapter 1

**Here it is!**

 **I'd like to give a shoutout to Pacco1! I really appreciate the follow and favorite; it's a sinple action, but It felt like a _huge_** **vote of confidence, so thank you _so_ much for that!**

 **A Strange Girl: Chapter 1: Past Problems**

Atalanta LeStrange was, as her surname suggested, a strange girl, even by wizarding standards. She'd been bounced from school to school, never remaining for more than a year. She'd been to three American schools - Empire State Wizarding Academy in New York City, Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in Eastern North America, and Lincoln Academy for the Magically Gifted in D.C. - and even was homeschooled by a friend's mom, but the two had had a falling out, and the mother decided it was best if she didn't come back.

Now, here was a professor from a school in Scotland, the school her heinous mother had attended, mind you, offering her a chance to attend that school, staying at a house with a man called Sirius Black.

"Uh, I appreciate the offer, Professor McGonagall, but I don't think that'd be a good idea. My mother and father killed and tortured many people, and I'd only be treated with contempt. Plus, isn't Black supposed to be a mass murderer?"

"He was proven innocent by a student named Harry Potter, but the officials still are adamant about him being guilty, even though they had no evidence when throwing him in Azkaban." She sighed. "I cannot say that I am surprised by your decision, Miss LeStrange, but I want you to know that the offer remains." She turned to exit, but Atalanta grasped her forearm.

"If I say yes, will I go now, get to know Black and some others?"

"You would leave as soon as you were ready," she said with a knowing smile.

Lani bit her lip. "Give me ten minutes."

-Line Break-

They apparated to #12 Grimmauld Place and McGonagall opened the door, allowing Lani to see a redheaded woman ushering a boy with black, untidy hair and round, wire-rimmed glasses upstairs.

She turned and saw McGonagall and Lani and smiled. "Ah, Minerva, thank Merlin, you made it. And I take it this is Atalanta?" She looked her up and down. "A beautiful young lady, if I've ever seen one!"

Atalanta smiled pleasantly. "Hello, I'm Atalanta LeStrange."

"Molly Weasley." She yelled up the stairs, "Children, come say hello to someone!"

Lanj had turned her gaze to the floor. "As in the Molly Weasley who used to be Molly Prewett, sister to Gideon and Fabian Prewett? The people whose murders my mother took place in?"

Molly smiled sadly and embraced the girl. "Oh, dearie, it wasn't your fault. I don't blame you in the slightest. Anyone who does can come and talk to me."

The girl smiled. "Thank you, Mrs. Weasley. And, please, call me Lani." The thundering of footsteps alerted them to the approaching children.

McGonagall had told her who she'd be meeting, specifically the one with black hair and glasses that she'd seen earlier. "This is Atalanta, Atalanta this is Fred, George, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and-"

"Harry Potter," she said. "Professor McGonagall said you'd be here. It's nice to meet you all."

Molly then ushered them upstairs. While following them, she heard McGonagall say, "Make sure that Sirius accepts her. She's had it rougher than most witches."

She joined Harry, Hermione, and Ron into one of the spare rooms, but they gave her odd looks, making her feel like they didn't want her there.

"Uh, sorry," she said awkwardly. "I'll... just go."

She turned to leave, but Hermione said, "No, it's alright, we just thought maybe you'd tell us your story. We'll tell you ours."

Atalanta sighed. "Would you guys want to go first?" Her throat suddenly felt extremely dry. She needed some time to prepare herself emotionally.

Harry frowned but nodded, explaining his first year at Hogwarts, fighting the parasitic Voldemort, second year defeating the basilisk and saving Ginny, third year and freeing Sirius, fourth year and the Tri-Wizard Tournament and Voldemort rising again, to the attack by the dementors and his impending trial. Ron and Hermione jumped in every so often, filling in any information Harry had missed.

"So," Ron said expectantly, "what's your story, Atalanta LeStrange? Why haven't you been to Hogwarts, and why do you sound American?"

She sighed and swallowed the lump in her throat. "My mother was Moldy-Voldy's right-hand. She tortured and murdered anyone and everyone she could find who opposed him. She hated me. I was a constant reminder of her weakest moments; when she'd held me in front of the Dark Lord, and he'd taken me and tortured me, making her plead and beg to let me go. He'd hit her, strike her, and basically do anything to punish her, short of killing her. He'd almost killed me. My father wasn't caught for years after my mother, and he would beat me until I passed out. He referred to it as a physical lullaby." She'd broken into tears, but had only let her voice break every so often. She wouldn't be seen as weak in front of them.

She continued, "He was finally caught, and I was sent to an orphanage, but I managed to sneak away and stow myself away on a boat delivering things to the east coast of America. I'd been to three different schools and was homeschooled. I'd never remained at a single school for more than a year. I'd also learned to wear longer-sleeved shirts or even hoodies, along with long jeans or tall socks or boots, otherwise people would ask questions or make fun of me because I was ugly. That is, until I figured out how to charm this necklace," she held up a simple necklace with an anchor charm, "to hide my scars. That's why I've never been to Hogwarts and why I sound American; because, in essence, I am. Now, Professor McGonagall convinced me to come and stay here with Sirius Black."

She looked up from her lap and wiped away her tears, only to see Hermione crying, Harry looking about ready to smack a bitch, and Ron looking horrified.

Hermione rushed over and gave her a tight hug, and Lani felt the tears come back with a vengeance. She realized that maybe she could be seen as weak in front of these three.

She realized that she'd just made her first true friends in her entire life, because they actually cared.

They didn't just apologize and talk about their own problems like her American friends had. They listened, felt for her, and were genuinely friendly with her.

Soon, both Harry and Ron had joined in the hug, and she had calmed down.

"Thanks, guys."

"No worries, Atalanta-"

"Please, it's Lani."

Harry smiled, "Lani. I'm sorry we forced to to tell us that."

"You didn't force me to do anything. I chose to tell you, because you told me your story."

Hermione smiled sadly. "I can't believe you had to go through that."

Molly's voice was heard throughput the house, announcing dinner.

Harry grinned and rushed out of the room, ready to see Sirius again, whereas Ron rushed for food.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Boys." She walked out calmly alongside Lani, who was nervous to meet Sirius Black, her new housemate.

 **There ya have it! Chapter One of "A Strange Girl"! I hope it's as good if not better than my past story.**

 **-Ravenclaw'sHeir2020**

 **P.S.-I know I said I'd upload tomorrow, but I just couldn't wait!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey, guys. Ravenclaw'sHeir back with another installment of A Strange Girl! I forgot to say a few things last chapter:**

 **First: This story is going to be more baseoff of the movies instead ofvthe books. I'd like to base it off the books, but they belong to my stubborn sister who won't let me borrow them. Sorry about that.**

 **Second: I don't own Harry Potter. I'm just gonna say that now and I'll add it to the summary. [Disclaimers are a bitch.]**

 **Third: Sorry for all the typos. I do these using ny phone, so I don't catch everything that ends up incorrect.**

 **Enjoy!**

 **A Strange Girl: Chapter 2: The Sorting**

Turns out, Lani had nothing to worry about. Sirius was a nice man who welcomed her with open arms, saying, "Bellatrix was a nutter, but what would that have to do with you?"

And so, Lani was introduced to all of the present members of the Order of the Phoenix, a secret group devoted to the defeat of Voldemort and his army. She sat down and ate, laughing at Tonks's antics along with Ginny, before the room suddenly took on a more serious air.

Lani looked over when she heard Moody's gruff voice say, "Show him," referring to Harry. "He'll find out soon enough."

She strained to see the newspaper headline that read, "The Boy Who Lies?"

She scoffed, causing everyone's heads to turn to her. She forced the blush away and shrugged. "I believe what Harry and the others told me about Voldemort being back, there's evidence everywhere. If the Minister is too daft to see it, why can't I think it's stupid?"

Lupin shook his head, smiling, and said, "Fudge assumes that Dumbledore is after his job."

Harry then replied, "But no one in his right mind would think Dumbledore would want to be Minister of Magic!"

Lupin calmly said, "That's exactly correct; Fudge isn't in his right mind. He's been twisted and warped by fear, and fear makes people do terrible, horrible things, Harry." Lani silently agreed. "He's using his influence over the Daily Prophet to slander anyone who claims Voldemort is back, refusing to face that terrible truth."

Harry frowned, but Sirius spoke before he could. "We believe Voldemort is trying to rebuild his army, and that's why those dementors attacked you. That's not all, though. We believe he's after something. Something he didn't get last time."

"Is this 'something' dangerous?" Lani asked.

Harry nodded. "A weapon? A tool?"

"A special talisman that could give Harry the upper hand?" Lani suggested.

Sirius was about to speak, but Molly cut him off. "No! I believe that's quite enough!" She tore the paper from Harry's hands. "You may as well indict them into the Order if you say much else!"

"Good!" Lani exclaimed.

Harry said, "Yeah! If Voldemort's raising an army I want to fight!"

"Me too!"

Sirius leaned back in his seat, giving a "there you have it" gesture before winking at the two.

-Line Break-

The next few weeks went by uneventfully. Lani and Hermione had started working with Lupin and Tonks to create a spell or something to remove the portrait of Mrs. Black and continued their job of cleaning the house up before the coming year.

They'd done it well before they left for Diagon Alley to get their supplies for class. Sirius let Lani take some coins for a new owl, as she hadn't had one for her past school years, and a broomstick, if she liked. She chose a beautiful barn owl with beautiful holden feathers on her body and stunning grey eyes that matched hers. She decided to call her Athena, Greek Goddess of Wisdom, whose symbol was an owl.

Tonks had then taken the four fifth years to get their books and other things. Harry and Lani went to the quidditch shop, where he bought new gloves and goggles, while Lani bought those, along with a WaterJet, the newest and fastest model, even faster than a Firebolt. It gave you the feeling of gliding across water at incredible speeds and had multiple enchantments and charms for any and all weather conditions.

If you couldn't tell, Lani already expected to be on the quidditch team this year. She'd been team captain at her last school in America and had joined one of the other teams during her homeschooled year.

They finished their shopping and returned to 12 Grimmauld Place. Apparently, Kreacher had decided to go rummage through stuff and had made a mess again, unveiling new boggarts, pests, smells, and, worst of all, two more screaming portraits that had been hidden behind wallpaper.

Lani then devised a special Silencing Charm that could work on all of the portraits.

When Hermione asked how she learned to create spells, she answered, "Magic isn't just something we're gifted with, it's literally a part of you. Once you're able to understand it and tap into your magical core, you can do almost anything."

She'd been attempting to teach the Golden Trio how to do that, but it'd been impossible to get through Ron and Harry's thick skulls, while Hermione had been making some progress.

The time to travel to Hogwarts came much too quickly in Lani's opinion. She sat with the three friends and joked with them while people stared at her openly, wondering who in the blue blazes she was. Some boys even winked at her while she just smiled politely back, not interested in any of them.

Then, an awkward boy who looked to be their age came over to the compartment and said, "Hey, guys. Have a good holiday?"

Harry looked at him and grinned. "Wow, Nev. You look..."

Hermione smiled and said, "You look wonderful, Neville. You'd said you'd been 'working off the extra weight,' but you look amazing."

He blushed brilliantly. "Thanks, Hermione." He then looked at Lani. "Oh, hi. I'm Neville. Neville Longbottom."

Lani sighed and looked down at her lap. "Uh, h-hi. I'm Atalanta," she swallowed the lump in her throat and wet her lips, "Atalanta LeStrange. People usually just call me Lani." He visibly tensed and his eyes widened slightly.

Hermione noticed this and filed it away for later questioning.

Neville then tried for a smile and said, "Nice to meet you, Lani. I've got to go now, see ya later, guys." He then rushed back the way he came.

Lani put her head in her hands and let out a shaky breath.

Harry, being the oblivious boy he was, wondered aloud, "Wonder what's got him so jumpy."

Hermione, on the other hand, put a hand on her shoulder and asked, "Lani, what was that about?"

Lani sighed and said, "My mom. I'll let him tell you when he's ready." They didn't push for information.

They climbed off of the Hogwarts Express and went to the carriages - Lani had been told to follow the rest of them to the castle - and waited for the next one when a girl smiled at Harry from the carriage that was just leaving. Neville walked up beside them, pointedly on the other side of Harry.

Lani felt breath on her shoulder and turned to see a beautiful skeletal horse shoulder pulling the carriage. Harry had obviously seen it as well, and they shared a look. "What's pulling the carriages?" they asked in unison.

They all looked at them as if they'd grown another head. "There's nothing pulling the carriages, guys," Hermione said. "They're pulling themselves, like usual."

A blonde girl with large, blue eyes sitting on the carriage spoke. "You're not going insane," she said. Lani saw Harry staring at her and immediately noted the look he had in his eyes. "I can see them too."

Lani was left wondering what exactly they were.

They rode up to the castle in silence. The other five went into the Great Hall while McGonagall told Lani to wait with the first-years.

Only about fifteen first-years had been there to be sorted that year. McGonagall smiled warmly at Lani and called, "LeStrange, Atalanta."

There were many murmurs about the "Lost Lady LeStrange," which seemed much too dramatic in her opinion.

'Hmm,' she heard in her head. 'Tricky... I should've placed you in Slytherin straight away, but you don't want that, do you? Hmm. Ah, yes, yes. I see.'

'Uh, could you hurry? I'd like to talk with my friends.'

The hat seemed surprised for some reason, but then laughed. 'Loyalty. It's decided.' "GRYFFINDOR!" it shouted.

She grinned and went over to sit beside Hermione, catching Neville's eye as she approached. He looked away quickly, and she sighed.

Hermione noticed this and wondered just what was going on between the two. Neville obviously had something to hide about Lani's mother, but what?

She'd try to bug Lani for information later.

Dumbledore introduced both a professor that would be teaching Care of Magical Creatures while the trio's friend was on leave, which confused said trio. He then introduced Professor Delores Umbridge who had been at Harry's hearing. Hermione voiced that that had to mean that the Ministry was interfering at Hogwarts, which they all knew couldn't be good. For anyone.

-Line Break-

Lani and Hermione bid Harry and Ron goodnight before going up to the girls' dormitory.

The other three girls in the dorm hadn't appeared yet, so the two got dressed in the sleepwear and sat on their beds to talk.

Hermione sat with her legs crossed and leaned forward. "What's going on between you and Neville? Seriously, it's utterly confusing!"

Lani sighed and just said, "I told you that I'd let him tell you when he's ready."

Hermione kept pressing for information but immediately stopped when the other three girls entered. Two entered with their heads bowed and close together, evidently gossiping up a storm. The third entered reading a book and immediately headed to her bed, closing the curtains. The other two finished their conversation with a giggle from each of them and tucked themselves in.

Hermione and Lani bid each other goodnight and fell asleep with heads full of excitement for the next day, but dread for DADA with Umbridge.

 **So, I was wondering whaf you guys thought about a story about Draco's twin brother who develops a forbidden crush on a certain Gryffindor bookworm. I'd been toying with this idea for a while, but I wanted your opinion.**

 **Anyway, see ya later, guys!**

 **Ravenclaw'sHeir**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey, Potterheads. Ravenclaw'sHeir back with Chapter 3 of A Strange Girl. I hope this is pleasing to you guys, because I tried literally four different ways of writing this chapter, including this final draft.**

 **Sorry about spelling mistakes, I still don't have that laptop.**

-Chapter 1: First Classes, Dumbridge, and New Powers-

Lani had soon taken to calling her Professor Dumbridge. She, like everyone else, was furious about not doing magic in class. It didn't help that most people didn't believe Harry about Voldemort being back.

He had been given a detention for saying that a boy called Cedric Diggory was murdered by Voldemort the past year. What a bunch of crap! Why would Harry lie about that?

Lani had this thought in her head as she walked into the Great Hall for lunch. She saw Harry and Ron chatting about something, quidditch probably.

Hermione walked up next to her and smiled. "Hi, Lani."

"Hi, 'Mione," she responded.

Lani walked to sit next to Harry, and Hermione sat next to Ron, but Lani noted her distance from him. She gave her a questioning look, but she just blushed and looked away.

Lani smirked and asked Harry if he had any more trouble that day.

"No, but it's getting on my nerves with all the stares and disdainful looks."

"I don't doubt it. Seamus was talking trash about you, but I overheard Neville defending you. He seems to believe you, Harry."

He nodded. "Seems you four are the only ones, though."

Lani sighed and rubbed his back comfortingly. "'S okay, Harry. Dumbridge can only do so much to us, right?"

He nodded. "True. Ron and I've got to go. See you guys later." He rose and left, Ron following behind him.

Lani leaned forward and grinned. "Does someone have a crush on Ron?" Hermione blushed furiously and looked down, playing with her food. Lani laughed. "She does, doesn't she?"

Hermione just kept on impersonating a tomato, refusing to answer. Lani just laughed and stood, intent on heading to the common room, but she bumped into someone, making them drop their book.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," she said, reaching down to grab it she looked at the person and recognized it as the third fifth girl in the dorm. "Oh, hey," she said, smiling. "I'm Lani LeStrange."

The girl stared back at her and said, "Felicia Moon," quite tersely, then walked past her to the end of the table where someone she didn't expect was waiting.

Hermione voiced her question, "Is Felicia Moon, a Gryffindor muggleborn, sitting with Draco Malfoy, a Slytherin pureblood?"

Lani shook it off and started to exit again. She had a free period, due to her accelerated education in America, and she intended to use it to teach herself how to become an animagus. She'd get herself registered in America, later, but she needed to know how, first.

She went up to the dorm and sat on her bed, closing the curtains. She looked through her book and studied how exactly to find her 'inner beast,' which was way too cheesily named in her opinion.

She sat herself in a lotus position and relaxed her body, performing a type of legilimency on herself. She delved into the darkest corners of her mind before coming to a bright forest, seeming to be in autumn with leaves changing colors. She hiked through the forest on the path, feeling a strange pull.

She spotted many forest creatures around, such as chipmunks, stags, does, and owls - to which she felt the slightest of pulls - but didn't feel the strong pull change course towards them. She suddenly came to a clearing with a single, completely green tree. She jogged towards it and saw a single owl perched on a branch.

It was a beautiful great horned owl with pure white feathers and had her grey eyes, just like Athena's. It looked at her with curiosity as it tilted its head to the side slightly before flying off of its branch to land on her shoulder and nuzzle itself into the crook of her neck.

She cane out of her vision-like state before grinning. She'd finally figured it out. After two years of trying, she'd done it. She knew her animagus. Now she just needed to change into it.

Hermione would flip when she told her.

-Line Break-

Hermione was about to flip.

During Ancient Runes, someone spoke up about how what they were learning had no purpose, but someone had then spoken about how they needed this for hunting dark wizards, or something or other. This led to a full-out argument about if You-Know-Who was back. All of this arguing was seriously going to mess up her OWL grades.

She was the first to leave the classroom, while everyone stared after her. Hermione Granger was never the first to leave class. Ever.

She set off to dinner and plopped herself down between Harry and Neville. Ron sat across from them, with Lani nowhere in sight.

"Where's Lani?" she asked, gauging Neville's reaction. Just as she assumed, he stiffened slightly.

Harry shrugged, as did Ron. Suddenly, they saw a whip of black hair rush into the Hall and sit beside Ron.

"You guys will never guess what happened earlier!"

She had glanced at Neville, who stood to go to a different area of the table, then looked to Hermione, both questioningly and excitedly.

"What?" Harry asked, sounding bored.

"I know what my animagus is!" she exclaimed happily.

Hermione's jaw dropped, Harry's eyes widened, and Ron did both. "Well?!" they all exclaimed expectantly.

"I'm an albino great horned owl!"

Hermione grinned, Harry laughed, and Ron did both. "That's amazing!" they exclaimed excitedly.

"I know, right?! I'm so excited!" She pulled out parchment and a quill and started to write a letter to the ADMO, the American Department of Magical Oversight. "I almost want to fly it to America myself!" she said after explaining what she was doing.

They talked about that for a small time longer before moving onto more school-related topics.

"Dumbridge is such a toad," Lani grumbled. "I say we consult Fred and George about sneaking her something from the Skiving Snackboxes!"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "No, Lani. That wouldn't help anyone." She then glanced at Harry. "Seamus and a Slytherin boy, Theodore Nott, started an argument about whether You-Know-Who is back or not, which got the whole class in an uproar. Surprisingly, Theodore is on our side."

Just as she said that, three Slytherins approached the table and sat beside Lani. A girl with chocolate brown hair, a button nose that any boy would say was adorable, and hazel eyes put her arm around Lani and grinned.

Lani grinned back at her, "Hey, Trace."

"Hey, Lan. Daph and Theo insisted on meeting you before the day was over," she indicated to the pretty blonde girl with jade green eyes, high cheekbones, and almond-shaped eyes and the handsome boy with ebony hair, shockingly bright blue eyes, and regal, stereotypical pureblood features.

"Hello, Atalanta," the girl said. "Daphne Greengrass," she stuck out her hand, which Lani shook, then nodded to the other three Gryffindors.

The boy nodded to her and said, "Theodore Nott."

Lani smiled back at him. "So, I hear that you two believe that Voldemort is back." They nodded. "So, what did you want to talk about?"

Theodore looked around, then bent in to speak softly, "My father was a Death Eater and wants me to take the Mark next year to help with a plan the Dark Lord has in the making. I was wondering if you would know a way to get out of it, either you or Granger, or if you wanted me to get the Mark and be a sort of spy."

The four looked shocked and the three Slytherins glanced at each other, afraid they'd broken them, but then Lani smiled softly and placed her hands

over Theodore's. "You don't have to go through that, Theodore. We can figure something out." She turned to Hermione. "Right, 'Mione?"

She nodded. "We'll figure it out, Theodore."

Lani smiled at him and looked into his eyes before noticing that her hands were still on top of his. She blushed furiously and tore her hand away, looking away, suddenly feeling shy around the Slytherin boy.

The boy smiled at the two Gryffindor girls, looking slightly sad and solemn. "Thank you, it would mean a lot. And it's just Theo to you four." The three stood and returned to their table, with Theo smiling brightly, especially at Lani.

This went noticed by Hermione, who grinned at the pink hue Lani's face had taken. Ron, on the other hand, gave the raven haired girl a strange look. "Are you feeling okay, Lani? You face looks flushed."

She nodded silently and smiled to herself. With Felicia and Draco hanging out and Theo, Daphne, and Tracy wanting to join their little "rebellion," it seemed inter-house relations were finally looking up.

At least, that's what she told herself she was smiling about.

-Line Break-

Lani huffed and sat in the red armchair beside the couch where Ron, Hermione, and Harry sat, noticing something on Harry's left hand.

"Uh, Harry, what happened to your hand?" she asked, thinking she already knew what had been his punishment in detention.

He frowned and analyzed his right hand. "Nothing."

"Your other hand," she tugged on his left hand, causing him to drop his Potions book and assignment with an indignant, 'Hey!' She looked at the back of his hand and read the words, 'I must not tell lies,' carved deeply into his skin. It was written in obvious male handwriting.

Lani shook her head. "That woman is torturing you, Harry."

Hermione and Ron looked at his hand with wide eyes. "Bloody hell, Mate," Ron said.

Hermione shook her head. "You have to go to Dumbledore, Harry. It's simple, just walk to his office and tell him what she did."

"It's not simple, Hermione. He has enough on his mind, anyway." He picked up his book and returned to his assignment.

Lani frowned at him. "Harry, if you won't tell Dumbledore, at least tell McGonagall. Or Sirius." He nodded at her, but she felt like it was only to shut her up. She faked a yawn and stretched. "Well, I'm off to bed. G'night." They chorused goodbyes, and she stood and went upstairs.

She picked parchment, a quill, and ink from her bag and wrote a note to McGonagall:

 _"Professor McGonagall,_

 _DADA teacher used Blood Quill on HP. HP refuses to tell Headmaster._

 _~APL"_

She decided to fly it there herself and morphed into her owl form. She flew out of the window, note in her beak. She rapped on McGonagall's window, who opened it and looked at her questioningly. She dropped the note on the desk and sat there, waiting for her to read it.

She scanned over it and looked at the owl over the rims of her glasses. She nodded at the owl and shooed her away. Just as she was about to fly out, she said, "I do hope you spoke to the Department, Atalanta."

The owl looked at her and nodded, winking, before flying off to _actually_ get some sleep.

 **There! This story is officially longer than Daughter of a Death Eater, and I like it a lot better. I will be deleting that story right after I upload this, so say, "Good riddance!"**

 **As I said at the beginning, I hope you like this final draft of Chapter 3. I certainly like it, but ai would still change a dew things. I probably won't upload until I do get that laptop, so it could still be a little while.**

 **~Ravenclaw'sHeir**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello again, Potterheads! I'm back, and I still don't have that laptop... Ugh. So, before anyone comments anything, I know that this chapter takes things a little bit quickly. But, there are still a few things to adress with her story, so it won't be _too_ much like the movies.**

Lani walked down to the Common Room, seeing Harry and Neville talking, both of them also having a free period.

She sat down across the room, knowing that Neville would leave if he knew she was there. She pulled out her phone, which was enchanted to work beyond any and all magical ward and put her earbuds in, putting her music on shuffle.

She bobbed her head up and down, tapping her foot as she listened. Music had always been her way to escape back in the States.

She noticed Harry looking at her amusedly and Neville pointedly avoiding looking at her. She smiled at him and pulled her earbuds out.

"Hey, Harry. Hello, Neville." The latter didn't respond, making Lani sigh.

She gave Harry a look and he nodded. "I'll be right back, Neville, I'm going to to grab my Potions homework."

The boy nodded, still not looking at Lani. She frowned and took Harry's seat.

She opened her mouth, but hesitated; what would she say? What could she say? Then she got an idea.

She reached for her necklace and took a deep breath, catching his attention. She pulled the chain over her head and closed her eyes, hearing him take a sharp breath.

"Wha... What happened to you?" he asked bewilderedly.

She opened her eyes and expected to see disgust on his face, which was there. The strange thing was it was mixed with concern; actual, raw concern. "My parents knew ways to torture other than the Cruciatus."

She put the necklace back on, watching a particularly nasty scar along her palm disappear. He was looking at her confusedly. "I was a constant reminder to my parents of their worst moments in front of You-Know-Who. I was born at the end of July, and there was a prophecy about a child born then that he didn't particularly fancy. He nearly killed me, but my mother convinced him to spare me. She often hit me as a baby, and I only remember those beatings because of dreams. My father wasn't caught until long after my mother, so he could still beat me for years. He often said he wished for a son, wished my mother hadn't pleaded for my life."

Neville shook his head. "Why?"

"I was their one weakness. The reason the Dark Lord was often angry at them."

"That's not what I meant. Why are you telling me this?"

"Because I want you to know you don't need to avoid me. I'm sorry for what they did to your parents," he winced, "but I hate them, too." She looked at her hands, folded in her lap. "I understand if you still want to avoid me, but I just wanted to tell you you don't have to."

She stood and walked to the portrait hole, before feeling a hand on her shoulder. "Thank you, Atalanta."

"Lani. And you're welcome, Neville."

"Nev."

She smiled and nodded before turning and heading down the staircase. Now that that was out of the way, she needed to find that Luna girl...

She found herself walking into the library, remembering that Ravenclaws were the studious house. She saw the person she was looking for in a corner, reading.

"Hey, Luna." The blonde looked up at her dreamily.

"Hello," she said. "Lovely morning, isn't it?"

Lani smiled at her and nodded. "It is. Want to come with me go the owlery? I have a letter to send to America."

Luna smiled but shook her head. "I can't, the thestrals will be expecting me."

Lani tilted her head. "Thestrals?"

"The black horse creatures from a couple days ago. They can only be seen by someone who's seen death. How can you see them, then?"

Lani frowned. "An old friend of mine took an overdose of Sleeping Drought. I called a hospital, but it was too late to save her. I'd barely said goodbye before she flat-lined."

Luna smiled sympathetically. "I'm sorry for that. My mum liked to invent spells and potions-she was an extraordinary alchemist and, overall, a fantastic witch-but a spell of hers went horribly wrong when I was nine."

"Oh, that's horrible. I'm so sorry, Luna."

She nodded. "It does upset me from time to time, but I have Dad."

Lani smiled and said, "That's good. I had a teacher who was like a mother to me, and we still write as often as possible. My real parents were... Well, you know who and what they were."

Luna nodded. "Bellatrix and Rodolphus LeStrange, You-Know-Who's best and worst Death Eaters."

"Yeah... Well, I've got to go, I'll see you around, Luna."

Luna nodded, returning to her book.

Lani walked to the owlery and stroked Athena's feathers before giving her the letter. As the owl flew off, Lani turned started to leave, nearly bumping into Theodore Nott in the process.

"Oh! Sorry, Theo, I didn't see you there."

"It's alright. I was just mailing a letter to my dad, he moved the Marking to the holidays."

Lani's eyes widened. "What?! Hermione and I've not even started tryimg to find a solution yet! You have to stall him!"

"There's no way out of this, Lan. I'll be fine." He smiled, grabbing her hand and squeezing it lightly. "You'll see. This won't be a problem." He released her hand and walked inside, approaching a black eagle owl.

She frowned and retreated fro the tower, heading back to the library before Arithmancy. 'I'll figure something out, Theo. Don't worry," she thought.

She refused to acknowledge that, of the two of them, she seemed to be the only worried one.

-Line Break-

Lani huffed as she slammed her book bag onto her desk, startling Hermione. "Theo's marking was moved to the holidays, and there's nothing in the library so far."

Hermione frowned. "We'll find something, Lani."

"Hermione, I don't think he wants us to do anything."

"What? He made it clear-"

"I know, but..."

"We should keep an eye on him, along with Tracey and Daphne."

-Line Break-

Hermione rolled her eyes and asked Ron, "Do you ever stop eating?"

"Wha'? I'm 'ungry!" he said with his mouth full.

Lani snorted and shared a look with Ginny before Harry approached.

"Harry," Hermione greeted awkwardly.

"Can I join you?" he asked, making Lani frown.

"You don't have to ask to-"

"... Professor, but what exactly are you insinuating?" came Dumbridge's voice from the corridors.

Lani stood and went out there, along with half of the students.

"I am merely requesting that, when it comes to my students, you conform to prescribed disciplinary practices." McGongall threw back at her.

"So silly of me, but it sounds that you're questioning my authority in my own classroom, Minerva," taking a step up to meet McGonagall's height and saying 'Minerva' like it was a disease.

"Not at all, Delores," she bit back. "Merely your Medieval methods."

"Why-! I am sorry, my dear, but to question my practices is to question the Ministry and, by extension, the Minister himself. I am a tolerant woman [Atalanta rolled her eyes at this.], but the one thing I will not stand for is disloyalty."

McGonagall took a step down, shaking her head in disbelief. "'Disloyalty.'"

The toad took a step up and spoke, addressing all the students and staff present. "Things at Hogwarts are far worse than I'd feared. Cornelius will want to take immediate action."

The nest thing anyone knew, Filch was nailing up a board that read,

"Educational Decree No. 23

Delores Jane Umbridge has been appointed to the post of Hogwarts High Inquisitor."

-Line Break-

It had been weeks since then, and Umbridge had been doing evaluations on each of the teachers. McGonagall's had been funny, as Umbridge kept interrupting her, which irritated her immensely.

"I wonder," she had said, "how you expect to gain an idea of my teaching methods if you continue to interrupt me? You see, I do not generally permit people to talk when I am talking." Lani had shared a look with Harry and snickered.

Suddenly, students started flooding into the courtyard, and Harry caught up with Luna, Lani right behind him. "Luna, what's going on?"

"I believe Umbridge is getting rid of Professor Trelawney."

Lani looked out and her heart broke slightly for the poor teacher. She had sat down on her luggage as Filch brought out another bag.

Ron, who had appeared next to Harry, scoffed. "Serves the old faker right."

Hermione slapped him upside the head, saying, "That's not very polite, Ron."

Umbridge walked out, looking smug as ever. Trelawney stood again and stumbled weakly, tripping over one of her bags. She looked powerless to stop this, and she was.

Her shaking voice could be heard saying, "Six-" her voice broke. "Sixteen years I've lived and taught here. Hogwarts is my home." Tears started leaking from her eyes. "You can't do this."

Umbridge held up a paper, likely her High Inquisitor form. "Actually, I can."

McGonagall rushed forward and pulled Trelawney into an embrace.

Umbridge looked at her cockily. "Something you'd like to say, dear?"

"Oh, there are several things I would like to say!"

The doors to the school opened and Lani grinned when the Headmaster walked out. "Professor McGonagall," he said, "might I ask you to escort Sybil back inside?"

Trelawney smiled at him, still sobbing as McGonagall led her back in. "Thank you, Dumbledore," she sobbed.

"Dumbledore, may I remind you that, under the terms of Educational Decree Number Twenty-Three, as enacted by the Minister-"

"You have the right to dismiss my teachers. You do not, however, have the authority to banish them from the grounds. That power remains with the Headmaster."

"...For now."

Dumbledore looked around and said, "Don't you all have studying to do?"

Students disbanded as Harry chased after the Headmaster.

-Line Break-

"That foul, evil old gargoyle," Hermione growled. "We're not learning how to defend ourselves, we're not learning how to pass our OWLs. She's taking over the entire school."

Harry turned up the radio as something about 'disappearances' tying together with 'notorious mass-murderer, Sirius Black' was said.

Lani looked out the window. "He really is out there, isn't he?" she asked rhetorically. "We've got to be able to defend ourselves. And if Umbridge won't do it, we need someone who will."

The three of them turned to look at Harry before Ron and Hermione also looked at Lani, making her shake her head and say, "Not me. I can't teach for crap."

"And everyone thinks I'm a nutter. No one will want to learn from me."

"Atalanta knows the most about these spells, and Harry has the most real-world experience with it."

Lani shared a look with Harry and grimaced. "She has a point, Harry. We're the most qualified to do it."

He thought for a few moments before sighing and nodding. "Alright, we can try it. But we only tell people we trust and tell them to do the same."

They nodded and went up to their dorms, all of them falling asleep as soon as their heads hit their pillows.

 **Like I said earlier, I know things (with Neville and Luna and Theodore) went really quickly, but I still have a couole things (Bellatrix, Draco and Felicia, DADA, Tracey and Daphne) before it becomes too much like the movies, with a little book finesse added in.**

 **Anyway, I hope this was a satifdying chapter. See ya later!**

 **~Ravenclaw'sHeir**


	5. Uh, My Bad! That's on Me!

**Uh, I** ** _may_** **have made a mistake...**

 **Okay, so (in the movies, I'm not sure if it's in the books) there us a conversation between the trio and Sirius when they're talking about Umbridge. I'm not sure if I should edit that into the last chapter or not, seeing as it's not actually that important. Just Sirius and them saying stuff about Umbitch. Anyway, you may want to check the previous chapter for that extra little conversation.**

 **Buh-bye!**

 **~Ravenclaw'sHeir**


	6. Chapter 5

Uh... First off, please don't murder me... *green light flies at face* GAH! -*ducks down as light hits crew member* OKAY, I'M SORRY!

Haha, but seriously, I do feel bad. It's just been hectic this year, and with finals coming up, this chapter is gonna be shorter. Updates will be _extremely_ sporadic. In fact, you mightn't even expect one until next summer, sorry.

Anyway, let's get started!

-Chapter 5: Proper Teachers-

Lani flopped into her desk beside Tracey. "Uggghhhh..." she responded when Tracey greeted her.

"Somebody's in a chipper mood, today," she observed sarcastically.

Lani sighed. "Harry, Hermione, Ron, and I were up late planning a secret duelling club. I want you and Daphne there, tell only people you trust."

"What about Theo?"

Lani hesitated. "I... I don't know." She noticed the look on Miss Davis's face. "You know what, invite him along, too. The Hog's Head Inn on the first Hogsmeade weekend. Three o'clock."

"Okay, I'll get the word out to my friends."

"Remember, only ones you trust with your life."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever."

Lani rolled her eyes. "Also, I have to talk to you and Daphne, at some point. Without Theo, I mean."

"Why without me?"

Lani spun around, almost falling off her chair, to see Theo smiling at her. "Oh, hey, Theo. Um, g-girl stuff."

He raised an eyebrow but shrugged. "Okay."

'Phew,' Lani thought. 'That was close. I have to be more careful.'

* * *

"Luna!" Lani raced to catch up with the blonde girl as she strolled through the corridors.

The girl didn't even glance at her. "Hello, Lani. I didn't expect to see you again so soon. Most people have a conversation with me and I don't speak to them except for projects or if they need help with homework."

 _And on that upbeat note…_ Lani thought. "I wanted to invite you to a duelling club meeting in Hogsmeade this weekend. We're gathering some students to teach them to defend themselves and I think you could be a big help."

"Hmm. I'd love to, but are you sure I won't keep others from joining?"

"If they don't want to join, it's their loss. You and everyone else who joins will learn a lot. Besides,you're a really fun person, and it's their loss if they don't want to hang out with you."

"Thank you, Lani, that's very nice of you."

Lani smiled and bid the girl farewell. _Hey, she didn't say anything about nargles or crumple-horned snorkacks._

"Watch out for nargles on your way back to your dorm."

 _Spoke too soon._

* * *

Lani grinned at the other three. "I can't believe we got so many people in on this! This is great!"

Almost two-and-a-half dozen people had joined their duelling club, including Fred, George, Ginny, Luna, Neville, Dean, Tracy, Daphne, Cho Chang, Colin and Dennis Creevey, Nigel, and even Felicia Moon.

"This is gonna work!" She held up her hand and gave each of them a high five.

Over the course of the next few weeks, everyone learned so much. They learned basic spells and charms first. Every day, they'd start off with ten minutes of practicing the disarming charm on each other. Finally, a week before Winter Break began, it came time to end the club for the holidays.

"Great work, everyone," Harry said, bursting with pride.

Lani grinned. "Let's give it up for Harry, everybody!" She began clapping loudly, followed by each and every student, even Felicia.

Everyone exited except for Harry and Lani, but Lani also saw Cho by the bulletin board, looking at the image of the boy who Harry had told her was Cedric Diggory.

Lani glared at him. "Don't you dare kiss her," she whispered. "Hugging is fine. No kissing."

* * *

"Haaaarrryyyyyyyy," Lani whined.

"I couldn't help it, Lani," Harry said. "Besides, since when do you dictate what I do with my love-life?"

"Since you started having a crush on Luna!"

Ron rolled his eyes. "Bugger off, Lani. Harry, just tell us what we're all really wondering." Everyone gave him a look. "What was it like? Kissing bloody Cho Chang?"

Hermione swatted his arm. "You insolent little-"

"Carrot-top."

The three of them looked at Lani. "What?" Hermione asked.

"Carrot-top. 'Cause of his orange hair."

For whatever reason, Hermione found that absolutely hilarious. "That's positively brilliant."

"You've never heard that before?" Lani asked.

"Never," she said, still trying to contain her laughter.

Harry rolled his eyes. " _Any_ way, Ron. It was… wet." Lani snickered. "I mean, she was sort of crying."

Ron snickered as well. "That bad at it, are you?"

"I'm sure Harry's kissing was more than satisfactory," Hermione said, instantly realizing how awkward it sounded. "Besides," she added quickly, "don't you understand how Cho must be feeling?"

Ron and Harry shook their heads while Lani shared a look with Hermione. "They're boys, remember? You can't expect them to be observant."

"Well… Obviously, she's feeling sad about Cedric, and therefore confused about liking Harry, guilty about kissing him, conflicted because Umbridge is threatening to sack her mum from her job at the Ministry, and frightened of failing her OWLs because she's so busy worrying about everything else," he finished with a deep breath.

Ron laughed. "One person couldn't feel all that; they'd explode."

"Just because you have the emotional range of a teaspoon," she snipped back.

A few moments later and they were all laughing, Hermione nearly in tears, before heading to bed.

Much had happened since that night: Harry had had a vision about Mr. Weasley being attacked, and the man was admitted to St. Mungo's, being treated for multiple wounds inflicted by a snake, exactly what Harry had described.

Now, it was Christmas, and everyone was buzzing around 12 Grimmauld Place, decorating for the day. Mr. Weasley had returned the previous day and was resting. Lani had her red and gold cross necklace-charmed with the same spells as her anchor-and wore a bright Santa Claus hat. Her best friend in America had been a very faithful girl and had preached to Lani every day, eventually getting Lani to believe, too. The necklace had been a Christmas gift, and she wore it every Christmas and Easter since then.

Lunch had the children opening gifts from Mrs. Weasley: Fred and George, Harry and Ginny got sweaters, Hermione and Lani got a scarf, and Ron got a vest. A hideous thing it was, but he wore it anyway.

They all had their fill at dinner, Ron more than everyone else, and the four went upstairs to sleep,but they exchanged gifts first. Ron received Bertie Bott's Beans from Harry, a copy of _Quidditch Through the Ages_ from Hermione, and birdseed from Lani. "Remember to share with Pigwidgeon," she had joked. Hermione got an Eagle Owl quill from Harry, a package of Chocolate Frogs from Ron, and a book of advanced charms and hexes from Lani. Harry got new quidditch supplies from Hermione, butterbeer taffy from Ron, and a book called _Adapt: Quidditch Strategies for Unpredictable Adversaries_ from Lani.

Finally, the three had banded together for Lani's gift. They got her a set of two books- _Shapeshifting: Animagi and Other Shapeshifting Abilities_ and _Hex A'gone!: A Guide to De-hexing_ -and a set of Muggle music like AC/DC, Queen, and twenty one pilots.*

They all thanked each other and bid each other goodnight and a final 'Happy Christmas.'

 ***-Yes, Yes, I realize they weren't around when this story takes place, but it's called fan** _ **fiction**_ **for a reason.**

-End of Chapter 5-

Merry Christmas, you guys! Or Happy Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, etc.! Happy Holidays.

Hey, a couple weeks away from school? That's grounds for happiness in and of itself.

See ya guys!

~Ravenclaw'sHeir


	7. Rewrite 2

**THIS AUTHOR'S NOTE DEALS WITH DARK THEMES THAT MANY READERS MAY FIND DISTURBING OR TRIGGERING. MENTIONS OF ABUSE, SUICIDE, AND SELF-HARM. READER DISCRETION IS ADVISED.**

 **I will attempt to keep these mentions as watered down as I can, but these are serious topics that I'd like to try and raise awareness about. The bolded paragraphs will be the paragraphs with the most mention and most detail about these , reader discretion is advised.**

Oh boy… Okay, so I know I've been absent for a long time. And believe me, it wa a much longer rest than I had intended… And since it's been so long, I've had a long time to think… And I've come to the conclusion that I want to do another rewrite. I feel horrible about it, but I want to try to do this story right. The way I wanted it to be in the first place. No crappy dialogue things or ideas for plot twists that were supposed to be fleshed out more being spoiled by writing that could be a lot better.

Now don't misunderstand, I like the idea of Atalanta Lestrange, but my writing style was naϊve and reminiscent of a twelve year old. I had a pretty dark freshman year (yeah, I'm only a sophomore this next year [10th grade for those who don't know, or the age of 15-16], so my writing style was totally accurate) and I've learned a lot about the world that I wish I didn't know. So this is gonna be something a few of you mightn't like, but I want to take this story down a bit of a darker path.

 **And no, I am not attempting to say that parental abuse is any less serious than any other form abuse, suicidal thought or actions, or self-harm. I do not have any respect for abusive people. No matter what form of abuse: sexual, physical, mental, emotional, verbal. I don't understand how anyone could ever consider causing harm to another human. Man, woman, or child. Nor any verbally abusive phrases towards the LGBTQ community. Nor any form of racism. It's far beyond my comprehension, even though I've seen it happen. So I want to make it clear that any and all of these themes are not acts I will ever condone. These themes will appear in A Strange Girl, but they are not reflections of my views of how humans should be treated. I don't care about your gender identity, your sexual orientation, your skin color, you language, your religion, your customs. All I care about is that you treat other humans with respect.**

 **My current girlfriend was raped by a person I know. A Christian. My religion. He was dating her and he forced her to do terrible things that she never wanted to do. He forced her to do acts she has regretted ever since. She has so little confidence now. He has ruined my girlfriend's life. And I will never, ever forgive him. I have no respect for anyone who has the gall, the audacity to force a human being to do anything against their will for their own pleasure. None.**

So, yes, this story will be much, much darker. I may even have to make it be rated M. I haven't decided how dark. THIS WILL NOT BE IN THE REALM OF SOMETHING A CHILD SHOULD READ! EVEN IF IT IS RATED T, **THIS IS NOT GOING TO BE FOR CHILDREN**!

In summary, I have full intentions of rewriting A Strange Girl again. I have yet to decide how dark I want to make it, but it will be darker than it previously was. I'm sorry to do this to you guys again, but I feel it needs to happen. I don't like my naϊve writing style, my childish nature. I will still have funny moments to try to make it slightly more lighthearted than it would be without them, but it will be dark. Again, I apologize, but I want to do this rewrite. I'm not asking for permission to do it. It's going to happen.

I hope you guys can respect my decision. I'll give you guys updates on when it gets reposted. I'll do my best to get it done quickly and efficiently. I'll talk to you guys soon. Bye.

~Ravenclaw'sHeir2020


	8. Not a Chapter, Sorry Also, I'm not dead

Hey, everyone. As you can tell by the chapter name, this isn't an update. I hadn't realized it's been a little over a year since my last update to this story. I apologize for that, and I don't have any great excuses for it. I just wanted to let you know that I'm still trying to work on the rewrite, but it's going slow. I'm currently in a slump. I don't plan to give up on this story, but it'll be a bit before I can get the first chapter up yet. I've changed a lot of her story. And I mean a lot. I'll try to finish it, but don't get too excited.

Talk to you guys later.


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